American Conservatory Theater presents An Emma Rice Company, Kay & McLean Productions and Jonathan Church Theatre Productions co-production

Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest

Name: Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest
Start: 2026-09-22T19:00:00-0700
End: 2026-10-18T21:00:00-0700
Location: TONI REMBE THEATER

Adapted and directed by Emma Rice

SEP 22–OCT 18, 2026

TONI REMBE THEATER

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Runs approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes including one 15-minute intermission

This production features loud sound effects, gunshot effects on and offstage, bright/flashing/strobe lights, smoking, and theatrical haze effects.

Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest

SEP 22–OCT 18, 2026

GET TICKETS SUBSCRIBE

Based on the Turner Entertainment Co. Film North by Northwest
Produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Kay & McLean Productions

Originally co-produced by Wise Children, York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Alexandra Palace Theatre

“Fun, intelligent and powered by Rice’s joyful whimsy”

The Guardian

Theater legend Emma Rice (A.C.T.’s Brief Encounter, Berkeley Rep’s The Wild Bride) returns to the Bay Area with her inventive take on the Alfred Hitchcock 1959 classic North by Northwest in a production hailed as “an undoubted triumph” (WhatsOnStage). This thrilling tale of mistaken identity sees us fleeing from a cornfield in the middle of nowhere to the sheer face of Mount Rushmore as Rice transforms this iconic film into a riotously funny high-speed theatrical ride.

"I am thrilled, excited and perhaps a little apprehensive to bring the iconic North by Northwest home to the US! I just hope that American audiences will love it as much as our British audiences did. What I am not apprehensive about is bringing its message; one of nations coming together in peace and friendship to make the world a better place. I think we can all raise a glass to that! I am also itching to return to A.C.T. and San Francisco, a piece of my heart will always remain in California and I cannot wait to return to your beautiful theatre, vivid audience and magic state."—Emma Rice

Walking Tour: Global Security in Hitchcock’s San Francisco

Take a deep dive into the themes underlying the journey embarked on by North by Northwest's main character. Visit a San Francisco once gripped by Cold War paranoia and espionage. Explore the machinations of global powers during the founding of the United Nations and traverse the spaces where organizations and individuals were persecuted during McCarthyism’s darkest hours. We also take you through locations near Union Square seen through the eyes of Alfred Hitchcock’s camera lens. This 90-minute walking tour, conducted by Shaping San Francisco historians LisaRuth Elliott and Chris Carlsson, will whet your appetite for our new production of the classic North by Northwest.

Walking Tour Ticket Price: $40.00 (Show ticket must be purchased separately)
The tour begins at the War Memorial Opera House and ends at the Toni Rembe Theater. The tour includes a moderate uphill walk and slightly steeper downhill portion.

Saturday, September 26 – Get Tickets
11:30am–1pm | Walking Tour (Meet at War Memorial Opera House)
1–2pm | Lunch Break (Lunch not provided)
2pm | Show

Wednesday, October 7 – Get Tickets
11:30am–1pm | Walking Tour (Meet at War Memorial Opera House)
1–2pm | Lunch Break (Lunch not provided)
2pm | Show

Sunday, October 11 – Get Tickets
10:30am–12pm | Walking Tour (Meet at War Memorial Opera House)
12–1pm | Lunch Break (Lunch not provided)
1pm | Show